I write this article as my family and I are returning from a trip to Philadelphia to visit family and celebrate Independence Day in the birthplace of our country. Like thousands of families, the Dinneen clan took advantage of July 4th falling on a Friday to enjoy a three-day weekend. And like thousands of families, we drove our car.

Independence Day is a time to reflect on the great freedoms Americans enjoy - and I'm not just talking about the Bill of Rights. Americans think nothing of the freedom to jump in a car and drive 500 miles for a weekend vacation with the family. Automobile ownership is ubiquitous. Gasoline is relatively affordable.
Even as we enjoy the freedoms we take for granted, the events of the past two years have reminded us that there was, and is, a high price to pay for these freedoms.

Our founding fathers weathered great sacrifices to establish this country. They believed in democracy and in the right of individuals to determine their own economic future. Think about it. Wouldn't it have been easier to just pay the English taxes? Thank goodness our forefathers did not. Their actions have served this country and the world well for over 200 years.
While certainly not on such a grand scale, the current energy policy debate before Congress contains many parallels to our struggle for independence in the 1770s.

Are we going to do what's easy? Maintain our reliance on oil from the Middle East. Bow to "taxes" the OPEC cartel levies on us from afar by artificially inflating the price of oil. Leave a key component of our economic health - energy - in the hands of countries that do not always wish us well. Even now, economic experts throughout the country cite the high price of oil as one of the main deterrents to a full economic recovery in the United States.

Or are we going to revolt? Launch a struggle for energy independence. A struggle that will require a new way of thinking about energy. Yet, a struggle that will set this nation once again on the path of controlling its own economic future.
By enacting a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), the United States would take a step toward energy independence. The RFS alone will not solve our current energy dependence problem, but it will make a difference. It will set a precedent. It will send a message to the world.

Two hundred years from now, as people look back on the dawn of this millennium, ethanol may or may not be playing a major role in powering America. Maybe hydrogen will be king. Maybe some as yet undiscovered energy source will power our economy. However, if the United States is still the world's economic superpower, you can bet our energy source will be domestically produced.

As people look back on our actions from 200 years hence, enacting an RFS may not be seen as a revolution, but I'm certain it will be viewed as a key turning point. A time when Americans stood up and said we're taking control of our economic future again.

Does anyone in this country really believe we can't achieve that objective with commitment and determination? I think not.





Bob Dinneen
President and CEO,
Renewable Fuels Association